• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.55-60
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• 2010

Clinical measures that Quantify falling risk factors are needed for the accurate evaluation of patients and to plan an intervention strategy. The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest and interrater reliability of the dynamic gait index (DGI) for persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). A total of 22 idiopathic PD patients were recruited from rehabilitation hospital, Korea in this study. The DGI was assessed in two sessions that were, three days apart. We also measured Berg balance test (BBT) and geriatric depression scale (GDS) for concurrent validity with DGI. Intrarater and interrater reliability (.96 and .98 respectively) for DGI were high. indicating good agreement. The DGI was showed a good positive correlation with the BBS (r=.852). but not GDS (r=-.462). Intrarater and interrater reliability of DGI were high in people with PD. The DGI could be a reliable measure to evaluate functional postural control during gait activities in the PD population, and the ability of DGI to detect real change is acceptable in research and clinical settings.

• Journal of Korean geriatric psychiatry
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2012

The diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still obscure even to specialists. To improve the diagnostic accuracy, to find at-risk people as early as possible, to predict the efficacy or adverse reactions of pharmacotherapy on an individual basis, to attain more reliable results of clinical trials by recruiting better defined participants, to prove the disease-modifying ability of new candidate drugs, to establish prognosis-based therapeutic plans, and to do more, is now increasing the need for biomarkers for AD. Among AD-related biochemical markers, cerebrospinal beta-amyloid and tau have been paid the most attention since they are materials directly interfacing the brain interstitium and can be obtained through the lumbar puncture. Level of beta-amyloid is reduced whereas tau is increased in cerebrospinal fluid of AD patients relative to cognitively normal elderly people. Remarkably, such information has been found to help predict AD conversion of mild cognitive impairment. Despite inconsistent findings from previous studies, plasma beta-amyloid is thought to be increased before the disease onset, but show decreasing change as the disease progress. Regarding other peripheral biochemical markers, omics tools are being widely used not only to find useful biomarkers but also to generate novel hypotheses for AD pathogenesis and to lead new personalized future medicine.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 1990

In order to find out the status of health care of the old aged people (age of 65 and over) in a rural area, a study was carried out, through analyzing the data of health care clinic for 207 old aged people with geriatric diseases, and of questionnired survey for 84 old aged people with geriatric diseases in a rural community. Su Dong-Myun. Nam Yang Zu-Gun, Kyung Gi-Do, Korea, during the year of 1989. The following results were obtained. 1) The composition rate of population of age of 65 and over was 9.8% in total, and sex-specific composition rate was 9.3% in male and 10.4% in female. 2) Utilization rate of health care clinic for old aged people with geriatric diseases was the highest rate with 37.9%, through individual letters at the first time, and showed gradually decreasing tendency afterward. 3) In the means of utilization advices to health care clinic for the old aged people. the individual letters(37.9%) at the first time were more effective than public information of the old aged hall or/and Myun office(18.4%). 4) In opinion on utilization of health subcenter-health care clinic for the old aged people "will utilize"(59.5%) was the highest and "do not know"(26.2%) "be difficult to utilize" (9.5%) and "will not utilize"(4.8%) were in the next order. 5) Out of 84 respondents, the old aged people With geriatric diseases, 73.8%(about three-fourths) of them answered "their diseases to the aggravated" (29.8%) "not to be changed"(25.0%) and "to be unknown"(19.0%), and the others(26.2% of them) "to be changed for the better". 6) Out of 62 respondents(the old aged people), answered their geriatric diseases not to be changed for the better, "no curative effect" was the highest with 43.5% of them. "could not know" (33.9%), "would not treat"(19.4%) and "could not be treated"(4.8%) were in decreasing order. 7) The old aged people, responded their diseases to be changed for the better, answered that they(patients) should make themselves(68.2%) responsible for basic effort of health care. However the old aged people responded their diseases not to be changed for the better answered that they should impute the responsibility of basic effort for health care to medical facilities or other conditions(63.0%). 8) In the reason of failure that the old aged people responded their geriatric diseases not to have curative effect, mis-control of regular habits of daily life was the highest(57.1%), and failure of taking selected medicine steadily(28.6%), and abuse of medicines(14.3%) were in decreasing order. 9) The reason order of being changed for the better that the old aged people responded their diseases to have curative effect, was keeping and control of regular habits of daily life (46.7%), taking selected medicines steadily(33.3%) and others (20.2%) respectively. 10) The courses of geriatric diseases itself are so chronic, duplicate and uncertain, and the old aged people activities for disease control are so slow, various and uncertain that continuous health education in home or/and community unit must be essential factors for effective geriatric health care.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.70-78
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• 2009

Coptis japonica (C. japonica) is a perennial medicinal plant that has anti-inflammatory activity. C. japonica contains numerous biologically active alkaloids including berberine, palmatine, epi-berberine, and coptisine. The most well-known anti-inflammatory principal in C. japonica is berberine. For example, berberine has been implicated in the inhibition of iNOS induction by cytokines in microglial cells. However, the efficacies of other alkaloids components on microglial activation were not investigated yet. In this study, we investigated the effects of three alkaloids (palmatine, epi-berberine and coptisine) from C. japonica on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglial activation. BV2 microglial cells were immunostimulated with LPS and then the production of several inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were examined as well as the phosphorylation status of Erk1/2 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK). Palmatine and to a lesser extent epi-berberine and coptisine, significantly reduced the release of NO, which was mediated by the inhibition of LPS-stimulated mRNA and protein induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) from BV2 microglia. In addition to NO, palmatine inhibited MMP-9 enzymatic activity and mRNA induction by LPS. Palmatine also inhibited the increase in the LPS-induced MMP-9 promoter activity determined by MMP-9 promoter luciferase reporter assay. LPS stimulation increased Erk1/2 phosphorylation in BV2 cells and these alkaloids inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylation of Erk1/2. The anti-inflammatory effect of palmatine in LPS-stimulated microglia may suggest the potential use of the alkaloids in the modulation of neuroinflammatory responses, which might be important in the pathophysiological events of several neurological diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease (PD) and stroke.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.7-14
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• 2007

Korea is entered to the aging society with 21C. Also it is forecast we will enter in aging society quickly. for 5 years there are some growth in facility at least 2~3 times but our society needs more. But this quantitative growth is worried about less quality. That's why we needs more research about the facility for an geriatrics hospital. The people who suffered from senile disease needs more treatment days in the ward of geriatric hospital. so we have to consider about better condition in ward of geriatrics than in general. Better environment for eldery is included not only the ward space but also the corridor and the dayroom. This study which it performed to improve their habitability is researched on public space. and this reserch deal with general feature against a public space in the ward of geriatric, and investigate 2 facility for divede the the general feature of the space. and this investigate is recorded according to behavior of patients. It can find us which factor of the space is prefered by them.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting falls in 107 elderly living in the city aged 65 or older by evaluating general characteristics, chronic disease status, medical variables related to falls, balance-related confidence, physical ability and depression. Also, the correlations between the significant differences in variables were identified, and the prediction power was determined by deriving the variables with high influence to induce the fall. In the faller group, urinary incontinence, foot pain, lower extremity weakness, number of chronic disease and medication use were significantly higher than those of the nonfaller group. Also, statistically significant differences were evaluated in ABC (Activities-specific Balance Confidence) score, BBS (Berg Balance Scale) score, SGDS (Short Geriatric Depression Scale), FRT (Functional Reach Test) value. The main correlated factor for fall was ABC score, the lower the ABC score, fall risk is increased which is a significant negative impact. When the evaluation is performed by combining those scales, the hit ratio to classify whether faller or nonfaller is increased to 70.01% which is quite higher value.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.98-106
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• 2005

Objectives:Donepezil is a widely used drug for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease(AD). The aim of the present study was to clarify the efficacy and the characteristics of responders to donepezil. Methods:Patients with probable AD(n=80;75.7 years) and small vessel dementia(SVD)(n=18;77.8 years) who received donepezil were retrospectively analyzed using Alzheimer's registry, and three questions were asked:1) Does donepezil therapy improves cognitive symptoms in patients with dementia? 2) If donepezil improves cognitive symptoms, which items of the K-MMSE are improved? 3) What are the characteristics of responder to donepezil medication? Results:1) After donepezil medication, cognitive function measured by the K-MMSE was significantly improved in both types of dementia(AD and SVD), However, statistical differences were not found between these groups. 2) In a clinical trial of donepezil, the patients performed better than before mediation on K-MMSE items assessing orientation, recall, construction, concentration, calculation. 3) In AD, the K-MMSE score before medication was closely related with response of donepezil. Conclusion:This study suggests that donepezil improves various cognitive functions in both types of dementia, and the responsive group had significantly lower K-MMSE scores than the non-responsive group before medication.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.31-39
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• 2013

The geriatric patients with chronic physical diseases are frequently associated with the continuous clusters of depression including nonpathological sadness, subsyndromal depression, minor depressive disorder, and major depressive disorder. Because of the complex and reciprocal relationships among depression, elderly, and chronic physical diseases, screening approaches with specific nosological methods should be needed in the realm of early detection of depression. Cognitive decline is frequently manifested in geriatric depression with medical or neurological diseases. Also, somatic symptoms of depression or emotional symptoms of physical diseases can play a role as a hampering factor in the early detection of depression. Furthermore, after-care has been regarded as an essential factor of depression screening in the geriatric patients with chronic physical diseases. We reviewed the most popular examples of integrated medicine for depression in primary care. Thus, we propose a general hospital-based model for early detection of depression which includes favorable response loop between screening and therapeutic intervention. Our model can be a basis for evidence-based detection and after-care for depression in the geriatric patients with chronic medical diseases.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.85-98
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• 2023

Objective : We investigated the efficacy of an artificial intelligence computerized cognitive training program using motion capture to identify changes in cognition, depression, and quality of life in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. Methods : A total of seven older adults (experimental group = 4, control group = 3) participated in this study. During the COVID-19 period from October to December 2021, we used a program, "MOOVE Brain", that we had developed. The experimental group performed the program 30 minutes 3×/week for 1 month. We analyzed patients scores from the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination-2, the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet for Daily Life Evaluation, the short form Geriatric Depression Scale, and Geriatric Quality of Life Scale. Results : We observed positive changes in the mean scores of the Stroop Color Test (attention), Stroop Color/Word Test (executive function), SGDS-K (depression), and GQOL (QoL). However, these changes did not reach statistical significance for each variable. Conclusion : The study results from "MOOVE Brain" can help address cognitive and psychosocial issues in isolated patients with MCI during the COVID-19 pandemic or those unable to access in-person medical services.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.3.1-3.23
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• 2024

Cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-treated mouse airway epithelial cells (MAECs)-derived exosomes accelerate the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by upregulating triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM-1); however, the specific mechanism remains unclear. We aimed to explore the potential mechanisms of CSE-treated MAECs-derived exosomes on M1 macrophage polarization and pyroptosis in COPD. In vitro, exosomes were extracted from CSE-treated MAECs, followed by co-culture with macrophages. In vivo, mice exposed to cigarette smoke (CS) to induce COPD, followed by injection or/and intranasal instillation with oe-TREM-1 lentivirus. Lung function and pathological changes were evaluated. CD68⁺ cell number and the levels of iNOS, TNF-α, IL-1β (M1 macrophage marker), and pyroptosis-related proteins (NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-1 recruitment domain, caspase-1, cleaved-caspase-1, gasdermin D [GSDMD], and GSDMD-N) were examined. The expression of maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3), spleen focus forming virus proviral integration oncogene (SPI1), methyltransferase 3 (METTL3), and TREM-1 was detected and the binding relationships among them were verified. MEG3 increased N6-methyladenosine methylation of TREM-1 by recruiting SPI1 to activate METTL3. Overexpression of TREM-1 or METTL3 negated the alleviative effects of MEG3 inhibition on M1 polarization and pyroptosis. In mice exposed to CS, EXO^-CSE further aggravated lung injury, M1 polarization, and pyroptosis, which were reversed by MEG3 inhibition. TREM-1 overexpression negated the palliative effects of MEG3 inhibition on COPD mouse lung injury. Collectively, CSE-treated MAECs-derived exosomal long non-coding RNA MEG3 may expedite M1 macrophage polarization and pyroptosis in COPD via the SPI1/METTL3/TREM-1 axis.